History

Putting Our Best Foot Forward

Three friends went for a run in 2005 and conversation moved to the closets full of running shoes they owned; shoes no longer good enough for logging running miles but otherwise in very usable shape. Tracey, Cindy and Jen hatched a plan and soon, Sole Responsibility was born. The grass-roots non-profit started collecting shoes and established a relationship with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees which advised them on where the shoes are in most need.

Over the course of the next decade, collections were sent to countries including Chad, Rwanda, Lesotho, Cameroon, Djibouti, Rwanda and Namibia. Tremendous efforts were put forth by board members, community volunteers and sponsors. Those sponsors included great organizations like Norton Rose, Bridgehead, Ottawa Fit, WESA and Bushtukah. Check out our photo album for some great images through the years. In the news section of this site you'll see all of our seasonal updates through the years..

A New Direction

With Shoe Bank Canada now leading efforts to collect and donate shoes in the National Capital Region, Sole Responsibility (SR) decided to set to work on changing direction. One of the first steps occurred in 2017 when our major financial supporter, the Ottawa Running Club, became officially part of SR. The ORC was founded in 2007 and donates 100% of the funds they raise to charitable causes including SR and other organizations such as the Canadian Red Cross, and Doctors Without Borders.

In January of 2018, the charity will launch a new program, funded by our running club, that will aim to increase physical activity opportunities for children in low income neighbourhoods of our region. Please watch our website for future developments.